Becalmed by Jane Fairfax (NC-17)

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

I am back! I am going to drive again the crack_van for MFU next month but, as I will be on vacation during the first week of January, and probably unable to update my LJ on my hosts' PC, I am allowed, as compensation, to post my two first recs today and tomorrow, before my leaving for the snowy countryside.

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Unknown

Why this must be read:

Again I start my recs with a Jane Fairfax story. But, very, very different from the first one, except for the talent, style and sensibility.

This is a first time story; an emblematic and examplary first time story, with Napoleon and Illya isolated in a closed space (a boat, the open sea, no wind in the sails, the stars for witnesses). To sum up the situation, we have a shy and over repressed Illya, a shrewd but caring Napoleon, a romantic background. With this fairly trite and conventional ingredients, the clever author manages to concoct a powerful elixir, capable to command the reader's feelings and to curb any cynical reservation.

And we are only too willing to submit ourselves to the spell of romance; isn't it a pleasure to watch Illya slowly approached and tamed by a Napoleon in full seductive mode? Besides, everything sounds perfectly right, every move (always seen through Illya's eyes) is likely and understandable; the moods, in Illya's mind, are changing like the clouds in the sky, but are noted with subtlety and accuracy.

This relatively short text closes up with an interrogative: "The End?" Alas, I don't know any sequel.

Becalmed

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is a good story, one I've read often. And as far as I know, there isn't a sequel, more's the pity.

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

The first time I read it, I was charmed; the second time I saw all the ropes but was charmed nonetheless.